New Member from Ireland with some questions

[shep]

Hi all,

My 13 year old son started having seizures last year, only when sleeping, and they were diagnosed as Nocturnal seizures (Frontal Lobe). Since then (May'12) he has been on Tegretol and to the best of our knowledge, has not had any since. We did sleep in his room for a month after he started medicine and didnt observe any seizures during the night. He is extremely sporty and is on many local and County teams.
My question is this, I do remember reading in an article before that regular sleep pattern is essential and also avoiding anything that may interrupt that sleep. At 14, he does play xbox only at weekends, but also insists on wearing headphones listening to music as he goes to sleep. I can hear this music from the doorway as it is loud and rap. He is insisting that he needs it to go to sleep, but I think it is giving him a restless sleep, as he seems to be very tired in the mornings. Im afraid that it could start the seizures again.Any advice?

 

[Nakamova]

Hi shep, welcome to CWE!

Sleep is the #1 trigger for seizures. That said, not everyone is triggered by the same things, so it's possible that your son isn't at risk from the music. Still, if he isn't sleeping well, it's worth finding ways to improve the quality of his sleep. I think it would be worthwhile to try and convince him to sleep without the headphones on (if nothing else, for his hearing -- if the music is loud enough that you can hear it, it's damaging his eardrums). Could he try falling asleep with a programmable player (not headphones) that fades the music after a set time period?

 

[arnie]

Welcome to CWE, Shep. I don't know about music causing the seizures, but my first thought is that listening to music that loud will certainly cause "permanent shift in hearing", or deafness, even if only partial. Any music in headphones that is loud enough to be heard by others , especially at any distance, is waaaay too loud. I would suggest that you not let a 13-year-old "insist" on anything that is potentially so damaging to his health. If you take away the headphones and ipod you can at least see, after a few weeks, if his tiredness and seizure activity gets better. Even if it turns out that music is not the cause of that, the issues of potential deafness and of a 13-year-old deciding what he gets to do certainly should be addressed ASAP. Best of luck to you. Keep us posted on what happens.

 

[LisaBee]

Hi Shep! My daughter, almost 12, also was diagnosed with Nocturnal Frontal Lobe epilepsy last year. I have a hard time getting her to understand how important a good sleep pattern is for her. On the weekends she wants to stay up late and I do let her a little bit but I worry shes not getting enough sleep sometimes. Definately trying to work on that. She is really hard to get up for school in the mornings. It takes me about 30 minutes to get her out of bed so I know shes tired. I would shut the music off after he falls asleep if I were you so you know hes resting quietly. My daughter has the same issue with the TV. How is your son doing with the Tegretol? Side effects? Nice to meet you, welcome to CWE. Love that Ive found someone with the exact same diagnosis! Hope to hear from you!